Belhassen joins us as a Cultural Heritage Specialist and brings over fourteen years of practical experience specializing in World Heritage site management, conservation and restoration of historic buildings and areas, ancient monuments and archaeological sites in Tunisia and UAE.

 

Belhassen main mission is to help governmental authorities, privates and all heritage stakeholders to conserve, protect and promote their cultural heritage.

 

Belhassen is a cultural heritage specialist, with over fourteen years of practical experience specializing in World Heritage site management, conservation and restoration of historic buildings and areas, ancient monuments and archaeological sites in Tunisia and UAE.

 

He has worked from 2007 until 2016 as an architect en chef at the Tunisian National Heritage Institute (INP), where he has co-operated and led various conservations, restoration and valorization projects for Residential, administrative, religious, cultural monuments and military architecture.

 

Prior to his relocation to the UAE, Belhassen was the Conservation Director at the conservation department of the historic Medina of Tunis (CMT) (UNESCO World Heritage site listed since December 1979).  Where he was responsible for the site management and conservation of the Old Medina, policy-making, standard-setting, advice, coordinate and outreach. In this capacity, he run a multidisciplinary department of 200 workers and 30 staff.

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For two years, Belhassen applied his abilities to the fullest when he has worked at the SGTS administrative office in Sharjah, The United Arab Emirates on a project to inscribe a serial nomination of eight cultural sites on the UNESCO World Heritage List, then a Serial / transnational nomination for three cultural properties in three different countries.

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He has taught numerous aspects of the history of art, theory of architecture and town planning at the Central Polytechnic School of Tunis for two years. He has also participated as a lecturer in several national and international courses and workshops (Italy, Morocco, UAE, UK, Indonesia, Kuwait and Qatar).

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Currently, Belhassen is working on a restoration and rehabilitation project located in the buffer zone of a UNESCO site in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. His mission is to preserve and maintain the heritage character of the vernacular site based upon Najdi style.